MST3K 909 - Gorgo
The Movie Synopsis After an undersea earthquake, a baby sea monster is captured off the Irish coast. A group of promoters put this monster (dubbed Gorgo) into a circus. A member of the crew that found the creature (William Sylvester) suffers some general compunctions about the proceedings but goes along with them. Shortly after this, Gorgo's mom shows up and destroys several London landmarks in the process of rescuing him. The movie ends with Gorgo and parent lumbering off into the sunset. Information * Director Eugène Lourié later acquired a 35mm print of the movie for private use and cut out all the stock footage military shots. * The film was originally set in Japan. Later, the King Brothers and Eugène Lourié thought of setting it in Paris, but that would have meant the monster would have had to wade about 100 miles up the Seine to get to the city. Finally, the location was changed to Ireland and England. * Aside from Japan, Paris, and finally the U.K., the producers were considering using Australia as the location. However, they decided that nobody would care if Australia was attacked, and settled on the U.K. * Gene Simmons of KISS, a lifelong fan of monster movies, based the now-iconic design of his performing boots on Gorgo's head. * Both a novelization and comic book series based on the movie's titular monster were published around the time of the film's release. * There once existed a dinosaur called Gorgo-saurus, which - like the movie's monster - was a bipedal predator similar to Tyrannosaurus. But it wasn't anywhere near the 200 ft. tall behemoth in the movie. It reached heights of 10 feet at most. The Episode Host Segments ' guest stars as himself']] Opening Scene: Crow's head becomes the nest for the rare Spix's macaw. Segment One: Crow fights off weasels who want his eggs. Observer and Bobo arm wrestle, until a transmission from Pearl, on a trip to LA, interrupts. She has met Leonard Maltin, who recommends and introduces this week's movie. The eggs are taken away by Egg Protective Services when Crow makes an omelet in front of them. Segment Two: Because one of the people in the movie looks like Samuel Beckett, the crew presents the play Waiting for Gorgo-t. Segment Three: The crew plays Trivial Pursuit, William Sylvester Edition. Mike loves it and the 'bots don't. Segment Four: The Nanites have a circus, which ends in tragedy when Mike pays for admission. Segment Five: Mike helps Tom and Crow with their The Women of Gorgo calendar, financed by the mob. Pearl and Leonard make plans for future bad films. Stinger: An Irish fisherman curses out our heroes. Trivia * The "William Sylvester" version of Trivial Pursuit was made from a "1960's Edition" Trivial Pursuit game that was painted gray with artwork added. * Gorgo is referenced in the RiffTrax commentary of ''300'', due to Leonidas's wife being named Gorgo. * On mst3kinfo.com, this episode is referred to as the "closest we ever got to a lost episode," because it only showed twice. It first aired at 5 P.M. on July 18, 1998, and at 11 P.M. that same day before never being broadcast again due to the loss of rights. * In the final host segment, Pearl and Leonard Maltin contemplate the worst movie ever made. Leonard surmises that it would be something with Mickey Rourke, and Pearl suggests "cross-reference that with Eric Roberts". These two actors starred together in the 1984 film The Pope of Greenwich Village, which is generally well-regarded (and the source of the often-quoted line "Charlie! They took my thumb!"). They later both appeared in the 2010 film The Expendables, and in the 2014 film Skin Traffik. * This was the third episode featured during Turkey Day '15. * This episode marks the final appearance of The Nanites. Callbacks * "We've got to go find Robert Denby!" (Riding with Death) Production Errors * During the "Hey, Mike Nelson!" "Hey, Tom Servo!" exchange, Mike's microphone headset is visible in the silhouette when he turns his head towards Tom. Quotes & References *''"Is it true that they're working on yet another remake of The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh?"'' :The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh is a 1979 movie starring basketball great Julius "Dr. J" Erving. It has never been remade *''"Good masonry work on the titles!" "Yeah, it was done by the guys at Mark VII Productions!"'' :Mark VII Productions, which produced TV series such as Dragnet, had a logo that depicted the words "MARK VII" being stamped into a stone block. *''"Down with the old folks at home..."'' :"Old Folks at Home" (aka "Swanee River" or variations thereof) is a traditional American song by composer Stephen Foster. As Servo subsequently points out, Mike is mimicking the vocal style of singer Paul Robeson. *''"Hawaii Five-0 used to have really different credits!"'' :Set in Hawaii, the TV police drama Hawaii Five-0 featured fast-paced shots of surfers and waves in its opening credits (as opposed to the more tranquil scene here). *''"It's Robert Maxwell! He's alive!"'' :Robert Maxwell was a British media tycoon who died in 1991 after falling (or jumping, or being pushed, according to some theories) off the deck of his yacht. *''"Mike Nelson!"'' :...says Tom Servo, to which Mike replies "Tom Servo!". Tom is referring to Lloyd Bridges' character in Sea Hunt, who is a diver. *''"Don't worry, sir. Turns out Shelley Winters is a very good swimmer."'' :In the 1972 film , actress Shelley Winters, then in her fifties, performed a memorable underwater rescue scene. *''"They got into port and everyone was okay, then went out for lunch and felt better!"'' :Sung to the tune of 's " ", which is about a shipping vessel that sank in Lake Superior, killing the entire crew. *''"Dave Foley."'' :Dave Foley is a Canadian actor and comedian who's best known as a member of the comedy troupe . The kid spotlighted for a second during Gorgo's first attack does look a bit like him. *"The beast?"'' "That's right, Ian Paisley!"'' :Ian Paisley is a highly controversial Northern Irish Protestant leader. *"Mr. Ryan!"'' "How's your Hope? And your Daughter?"'' :Reference to the soap opera Ryan's Hope and the film Ryan's Daughter. *''"We bought it from the government. It's called Fat Man or something." '' : was the name of the nuclear bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. The bathysphere being used in the movie is vaguely similar to the large egg-shaped outer metal shell of the bomb. *''"I crush you, you get crushed!"'' :Sung by Servo to the tune of the dinosaur's theme song. *''"Great, now Colonel Parker is managing his career."'' :Reference to Colonel Tom Parker, the controversial manager of Elvis Presley. *''"Talmud! Talmud! Talmud!"'' : The Talmud is a collection of Jewish expositions on the law. Torah is a Hebrew word meaning "law" or "instruction" and is the Jewish name for the Pentateuch or the first five books of the Bible. Mike is apparently making a play on the names of Judaic religious-themed texts in a reference to [[wikipedia:Tora! Tora! Tora!|''Tora! Tora! Tora!]]. *"You treated Jerry Lee Lewis better than this!"'' :Ray Berry revealed Jerry Lee Lewis' marriage to his 13 year old cousin (once removed) shortly after he landed in Britain for a tour in 1958. The tour was canceled after only 3 shows due to public outcry. *''"This is treating my bipolar disorder."'' :Shock therapy has been reported effective in treating bipolar disorder. *''"Poor bastards appear every hundred years and get hit with a huge storm."'' :A reference to the Lerner & Loewe musical Brigadoon about an enchanted Scottish village that only becomes accessible to outsiders every hundred years. *''"Samuel Beckett!"'' :A reference to the fact the harbor master bears a striking resemblance to novelist and playwright whose famous plays Waiting for Godot and Krapp's Last Tape are referenced as well. *''"Quiet! I'm finishing a monologue for Billie Whitelaw!"'' :Another Samuel Beckett reference (see above). Billie Whitelaw (1932-2014) was a British actress who worked closely with playwright for 25 years. She was considered was one of the foremost interpreters of his works. Memorable Quotes : the title screen : Mike: The Vice President's unimaginative campaign slogan. : scuba diver is seen on screen. : Servo: This new "Cool Ranch" flavored scuba air isn't very good. : ship is tossed terribly in a tremendous storm. The scene fades out. : Mike: And...? : to the next day, as the ship calmly sits in the water. : Mike: Oh, they're fine! : Crow: to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" :: They got into port and everyone was okay. :: They went out for lunch and felt better... : and Joe enter an old-fashioned peasant village. : Sam: Looks like they're pretty hard hit. : Mike: Poor dopes, they appear every hundred years and get hit by a huge storm. : and Joe call McCartin's bluff about permits. He sits down, thoughtfully. : McCartin: After you load with water… you leave. Tonight! : Joe: The sooner, the better! : Servo Joe/Cheerleader: The tighter the sweater! / The boys depend on us! : Crow Sam/Cheerleader: Yay! : is seen terrorizing a small Irish village. : Mike: Poor Irish—if they aren't being invaded by Cromwell or infested by leprechauns they've got this guy! : sailor sends a message back to England by Morse code. : Crow sailor: Am in Ireland, send real food. : breaking free of his nets Gorgo swings his tail at what looks like an elephant, which blows up. : Crow: I didn't know elephants exploded on impact! : mother Ogra begins rampaging through London. : Servo: Maybe Mary Poppins flies in and kicks his ass? : Mike: That I'd pay to see. : Bots reminisce about the Dorkin's Circus scenes during the endless military vs. Gorgo battles. : Servo: I wish they'd get back to Dorkin. : Crow: Yeah! There was a lot of Dorkin at the beginning of the movie. They should show that some more. : Servo: Sure! I mean, who wouldn't rather watch Dorkin than this stock footage? : Crow: Yeah. I— I'd just really, really like to watch people dorkin'. : Servo: D'oh! : Mike: Hey! Tha— that doesn't even work! : Crow: lewdly Oh, it works, Mike. Heh heh heh. : Mike: That's enough, you two. Enough Dorkin! I— : throws his hands up in exasperation. : Mike: You know what I mean. Stop it. : the latest attack by the British military on Gorgo's mom proves ineffective. : Servo: Pacifist or not, Gandhi's gotta be chuckling right now. : watches Gorgo and his mother leave the blazing ruins of London and head back to the ocean : Sean: She's going back now—back to the sea. : Servo Sean: ...With the blood of many on her scales. : mom and Gorgo continue back to the sea after demolishing London. : Mike Gorgo's Mom: C'mon son! As a treat, let's go crush France! : Servo Gorgo: HOORAY!! Video releases *Commercially released on DVD by Shout! Factory in November 2013 as part of Volume XXVIII, a 5-disc set along with Moon Zero Two, The Day the Earth Froze, The Leech Woman, Mitchell, and The Brain That Wouldn't Die. **The DVD includes the Ballyhoo Motion Pictures feature Ninth Wonder of the World: The Making of Gorgo, Leonard Maltin Explains Something, and a theatrical trailer. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 9 Category:Foreign Film Category:Unrated movies Category:Episodes directed by Michael J. Nelson